Hamas and Israel extend ceasefire for two days, Qatar says

The deal came after an Israeli offer to extend the ceasefire by one day for every additional 10 hostages released, which would be exchanged for 30 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

The Israeli hostages released on Monday were three women and eight children, all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, when more than 200 people were rounded up and taken to Gaza.

Among them were Sharon Alony Cunio, 34, and her three-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli Cunio, three of the six members of their family held hostage. David Cunio, the twins’ father and Mrs. Cunio’s husband, is believed to still be in Gaza. Her sister and niece were released on Friday.

The French government said three of those released on Monday had dual Israeli-French citizenship. A number of those abducted have dual nationalities, including about 10 Israeli-Americans, only one of whom, a four-year-old girl, has been released.

Hamas said it had received a list of three women and 30 minors that Israel would release in return on Monday.

The exchanges to date have mainly focused on Israeli and Palestinian women and minors. Dozens of Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians in their 70s and 80s continue to be held captive in Gaza. In several cases, children have been released without their fathers, and women without their husbands.

Family separations have been a stumbling block in hostage negotiations.

Israeli officials have expressed concern to Qatari mediators that some children were released without mothers who were also held captive, in violation of the agreement, according to an official briefed on the talks. The official said Hamas has said the mothers in those cases are being held by different groups and it would take some time to get them.

The exchange of hostages and prisoners is being negotiated by the government of Qatar, home to many Hamas political leaders and which has long acted as an intermediary for countries that refuse to deal directly with Hamas.